Four-wheel drive vehicles are in great demand since consumers desire the enhanced on-road and off-road traction control they provide. In many four-wheel drive vehicles, a transfer case is installed in the drivetrain and is normally operable to deliver drive torque to the primary driveline for establishing a two-wheel drive mode. The transfer case is further equipped with a clutch assembly that can be selectively or automatically actuated to transfer drive torque to the secondary driveline for establishing a four-wheel drive mode. These “mode” clutch assemblies can range from a simple dog clutch that is operable for mechanically shifting between the two-wheel drive mode and a “locked” (i.e., part-time) four-wheel drive mode to a sophisticated automatically-actuated multi-plate clutch for providing an “on-demand” four-wheel drive mode.
On-demand four-wheel drive systems are able to provide enhanced traction and stability control and improved operator convenience since the drive torque is transferred to the secondary driveline automatically in response to lost traction of the primary driveline. An example of passively-controlled on-demand transfer case is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,863 where the amount of drive torque transferred through a pump-actuated clutch pack is regulated as a function of the interaxle speed differential. In contrast, actively-controlled on-demand transfer cases include a clutch actuator that is adaptively controlled by an electronic control unit in response to instantaneous vehicular operating characteristics detected by a plurality of vehicle sensors. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,874,056, 5,363,938 and 5,407,024 disclose various examples of adaptive on-demand four-wheel drive systems.
Due to the cost and complexity associated with such actively-controlled on-demand clutch control systems, recent efforts have been directed to the use of overrunning clutches that can be controlled to provide various operating modes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,592 illustrates a pawl-type controllable overrunning clutch assembly installed in a transfer case and which can be shifted between various drive modes. U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,635 discloses a hydraulically-actuated multi-function controllable overrunning clutch assembly noted to be operable in vehicular power transmission mechanisms. Likewise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,510, 5,951,428, 6,123,183, and 6,132,332 each disclose a controllable multi-mode overrunning clutch installed in a transfer case and actuated using an electromagnetic clutch.
However, controllable overrunning clutch assemblies do not always provide predictable vehicle handling characteristics or the required durability necessary for use in modern four-wheel drive vehicles. Thus, a need exists to continue development of controllable bi-directional overrunning clutch assemblies which provide improved structure, robust operation, and reduced packaging for use in on-demand transfer cases.